furnace placement

[HatCityIAFF]

need a little input from you guys.

1.i've decided to sell the napoleon insert and upgrade to a furnace add on...i'm struggling with actual placement of the unit itself. The previous owner had forced hot air oil/ A/C installed prior to us moving in, and put the furnace in the garage, with limited space for add ons. The HVAC work runs up through the hallway closet, into the attic, and down to each room from there. (1700 sq ft raised ranch) 1300 sq ft upstairs being heated.




As you can see in the picture, space is limited. The cold air return comes down from the upstairs hallway, and they also are grabbing cold air from the lower level.

i was going to put the unit where my wifes drivers door is, up against that wall, and running 25ft of exterior chimney, but id have to go through the deck, and they was the sides of my house are i'd need too many 30 degree bends. am thinking about putting the unit between the two cars.



basically where the top of the white crate is, next to the support pole. Theres three bedrooms above the garage, so i can run my vent pipe right where the stars are on the american flag, and that'll put me in our spare bedroom closet, and the pipe would exit my roof next to the peak, so only about 4ft would be showing.
My two hot air outlets will get connected to the side of the insulated duckwork running upstairs.

What are your guys thoughts on this setup??

Do i have to connect the unit to the cold air return? Or can i just put it in the middle of the garage and use the filter box that come with it?

 

[alaskawild]

HatCity...

Hello from the far north. Have some friends in CT. How's your weather there?
I guess my first question is have you purchased a wood furnace yet? If you have I'm not sure I can add much at this point. If you haven't I can always throw out some ideas maybe taking a little different route.

 

[HatCityIAFF]

weather isnt all too bad...has been a mild summer so far...we've been having 70s during the day. And high 50s at night...this week its back to 90 degree days though....im probably going to go with the drolet tunda as it uses the same technology with secondary burn my insert does...what are some of your ideas??? Im really trying to stay under 4,000 for the whole project, and i need to install 18ft of insulated pipe...i toyed with the idea of an outdoor boiler with water/air exchanger, but im too close to my neighbors and thats a little out of my budget.

 

[alaskawild]

I'm guessing that you want to use wood? How many btu's do you need? I was going down the path of a water/air exchanger. 4000.00 is a little low for that setup but you might be able to do something. If you could use an inside boiler would that help you with flue exhaust issues? Sorry to ask so many questions but it could make a big difference. Let me know an I'll chime in from there. UG looks like we may have snow soon!

 

[HatCityIAFF]

Yes i'd like to stay with wood. I haven't calculated how many BTU's i'd need, but i figured if my insert on the lower level can keep the upstairs low 60s, then a furnace add on will give me even heat throughout the house. the problem is my furnace is vented with a power venter. When the furnace kicks on, the power venter turns on as well, and pulls the exhaust from the furnace. You can see the horozontal pipe in the picture running along the wall, this is that pipe. so ANY boiler/furnace i install, will need a seperate exhaust chimney. I've even considered a max caddy with oil back up, just take the old furnace out and replace it with the caddy, but then i'd still run into the problem with venting it

 

[alaskawild]

Ok, well I'll just jump in and give you my ideas. These are all ifs! LOL! If you could locate an indoor boiler on an exterior wall and be able to exhaust it I would. You will have the exhaust issue to deal with no matter what you choose. Then run your water/air exchanger in your plenum. Your furnace and power vent are the easy part of this puzzle. I don't want to toss brand names out here but I'll drop you a pm in a few. If your current furnace keeps you comfortable now I would definitely look at an indoor boiler and exchanger.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

None of that setup would be legal here. And I am willing to bet CT is stricter.

 

[DoubleB]

What's the story on the rest of your lower level? Can you somehow repurpose the flue currently used by the napolean?

I'm in the process of installing a Tundra too, and had plans of using my existing ductwork too. After much evolution and input from HVAC guys it seems the simplest is to just install three new big ducts to floor vents in the lower level and let the cold air return through some more floor vents into/through the basement. I can also ensure the ductwork has proper clearances from combustibles that way.

Just seems to me I'd rather use an existing wood fuel flue, avoid sucking garage vapors into the people space, avoid the risk (real or perceived) of igniting gasoline vapors, avoid a furnace in the middle of the garage, and keep the insurance company appeased.

 

[Owen1508]

None of that setup would be legal here. And I am willing to bet CT is stricter.

I would say it is not legal. NFPA 211 12.2.3 "Soild fuel burning appliances shall not be installed in any location where gasoline or any other flammable vapors or gases are present." And 12.2.4 "Solid fuel burning appliances shall not be installed in any garage." Although that seems to be the best spot for you, I think an inspector might not allow it and your insurance company won't like it either and can deny a claim if anything were to happen (I hope nothing would). Do you have any other possible locations at all?

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Although, Nfpa is federal guidelines. State/town may say otherwise. But probably not.

 

[Owen1508]

The IRC is the main code that the state of CT has adopted for it's building code along with the NFPA. The link to view the codes in CT is:

http://www.ct.gov/dcs/cwp/view.asp?a=4447&q=521446

 

[HatCityIAFF]

Thanks guys...I'm willing to bet that it is illegal as well, called my insurance company and they said to start with the building officials first. Didn't even get that far because the chimney would run up through the ceiling through a interior closet, and leave me with a one car garage, and the wife isn't too keen on that. The exterior chimney for the napoleon is on the complete opposite end of the house, so using that would be impossible. Also the downstairs is completely finished so running anymore ductwork would be too much. A buddy gave me the idea of getting a 10x12 shed outside, and putting a boiler in it like the biomas25 with underground pex to a heat exchanger. Im liking this idea, since my town doesn't allow OWB's, but i can put a unit in a shed. BUT now were talking in the 7000$ range for everything.

 

[alaskawild]

Thanks guys...I'm willing to bet that it is illegal as well, called my insurance company and they said to start with the building officials first. Didn't even get that far because the chimney would run up through the ceiling through a interior closet, and leave me with a one car garage, and the wife isn't too keen on that. The exterior chimney for the napoleon is on the complete opposite end of the house, so using that would be impossible. Also the downstairs is completely finished so running anymore ductwork would be too much. A buddy gave me the idea of getting a 10x12 shed outside, and putting a boiler in it like the biomas25 with underground pex to a heat exchanger. Im liking this idea, since my town doesn't allow OWB's, but i can put a unit in a shed. BUT now were talking in the 7000$ range for everything.

Now you are on the right track!

 

[Nofossil]

Outdoor shed is a nice way to go. Does it really add that much cost?